Dune’s grand cast of characters and its world of spice-mining empires and political machinations are full of dense complexities that, well, we’ve already explained a lot (a lot) about heading into Denis Villeneuve’s new movie adaptation. But now you can just have them loudly proclaim their names at you while they solemnly stare off into the distance thanks to these new posters!
Just in time for Comic-Con week—and to get everyone’s trailer-anticipation-senses tingling like they’re about to put their hands in a pain box—Warner Bros. has released a new series of character posters for Dune, which feels like it’s been in production and waiting to come out for so long at this point that, honestly, we probably could do with some reminders of who’s who. First up is Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, the heir to his familial house and the young boy about to be swept up in Dune’s epic tale of destiny.
Rebecca Ferguson plays Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother, who was meant to give birth to a daughter that would in turn birth a prophecized male messaniac figure to the religious order she was raised by, the Bene Gesserit.
The glorious beard attached to the face of the equally glorious Oscar Isaac is playing Duke Leto Atreides, Paul’s father and the lover of Lady Jessica. Jessica was meant to be Leto’s concubine while he married into another powerful family in the Imperium, but the two fell in love. In Dune, he’s tasked by the Empire with becoming the steward of the planet Arrakis, taking over from a villainous figure we’ll meet in another poster later.
Duncan Idaho, a swordsman of House Atreides, is played by Jason Momoa. One of Paul’s martial trainers, Idaho also serves as Leto’s ambassador to the Fremen, the native people who call Arrakis—a.k.a. Dune—home.
One of Paul’s other trainers in the ways of combat is Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck, the Warmaster for House Atreides and commander of its military forces.
Zendaya plays Chani Kynes, one of the Fremen, who has seen visions of Paul in her dreams well before the young man finds himself on Arrakis.
Chani serves as a warrior under the rule of Stilgar, played by Javier Bardem. The leader of the Sietch Tabr Fremen tribe, Stilgar’s considered the defacto figurehead of the Fremen at large on the planet.
Sharon Duncan-Brewster plays another of Stilgar’s Fremen tribe, Liet. Originally a planetary ecologist on Arrakis for the Padishah Empire’s attempted to terraform the world, Liet joined the Fremen and started her own family. Now the mother of Chani, she’s also a Fremen representative investigating the transition of power on Arrakis between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen.
Next, we have that aforementioned villainous figure: Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The former ruler of Arrakis and the head of House Harkonnen, the Baron ruled the world harshly, working people to death to mine melange—the rare and valuable spice that can only be found on Arrakis. When the Padishah Emperor handed rule over Arrakis to Leto due to Harkonnen’s cruel methods, he swore vengeance against House Atreides.
“Beast” Rabban, played by Dave Bautista, is actually better known as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, the nephew of Baron Harkonnen. Nicknamed “Beast” after murdering his own father, Rabban is cruel and vindictive, but is base impulses lead to his uncle choosing Rabban’s brother, Feyd-Rautha, as the heir to Arrakis.
David Dastmalchian is playing Piter De Vries, an agent of House Harkonnen who’s also looking to make a name for himself with his manipulations. De Vries is a Mentat, a computational mimic with vastly enhanced cognitive and analytical abilities designed to replace technology with an organic element after a ban on A.I.-like computer technology. Revered and admired in the Padishah Empire, Mentats are often loyal advisers... unless they’re Piter De Vries, of course.
Reverend Mother Mohiam, played by Charlotte Rampling, is a major figure within the Bene Gesserit religious organisation. Lady Jessica’s overseer when she herself was part of the order, the Reverend Mother is also pushing for more Bene Gesserit influence in the Empire’s royal court, acting as royal truthsayer for Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV.
Chang Chen plays Doctor Yueh, Duke Leto’s personal doctor. The black diamond on his head indicates special physician training that has mentally conditioned him with an enhanced conscience, which prevents him from willingly harming or killing another person.
Lastly, Thufir Hawat, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson, is a Mentat for House Atreides, and also its master of assassins. Paul’s trainer in politics and spywork, Hawat has also passed on his skills as a Mentat to the young heir, pushing his ability to disconnect his emotions from logic and reason.
Dune is set to release in theaters and on HBO Max later this year, on October 22.
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